Millions of people are receiving money via PIP for various health conditions
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides up to £748 per month for Brits with disabilities or long-term health conditions from the Department for Work and Pensions. The latest DWP figures has revealed the conditions listed on successful PIP claims.
Around 3.9 million people are currently receiving the benefit, with over 250,000 claiming for a range of back-related conditions. PIP isn’t awarded based on your diagnosis alone but rather looks at how it affects your daily life and mobility. Some people may even be able to successfully claim the benefit without an official or final diagnosis.
The top back conditions people claim PIP for are:
- Kyphosis
- Lumbar disc lesion
- Lumbar spondylosis
- Schuermann’s disease
- Scoliosis
- Spinal stenosis
- Spondylolisthesis
52,000 people people are claiming PIP for “non-specific” back pain as of April 2026. An additional 116,000 people are claiming PIP for back pain that is specific but their extact diagnosis is not known or classified as ‘other’ according tothe DWP.
Lumbar disc lesions was the most common back diagnosis on successful PIP claim, with over 40,000 claimants. This painful condition is also known as a herniated or slipped disc and causes pain in the back or legs with numbness and weakness in the legs too.
Lumbar spondylosis, or osteoarthritic spine, was the second most noted diagnosis with nearly 24,000 PIP claims. It’s a relatively common condition linked to ageing as the discs and vertebrae in the lower spine deteriorate over time.
It can greatly affect a person’s mobility and range of motion causing pain or stiffness, although some might not have any symptoms at all.
Spinal stenosis had almost the same amount of claims as lumbar sondylosis despite being slightly more rare. The condition causes a narrowing in the space of the spinal column where your spinal cord and nerves travel through.
It can cause a number of nerve symptoms in your neck, arms, lower back and legs. This can include tingling, weakness, numbness, stiffness, pain and mobility issues.
Scoliosis, which causes curves in the spine going left or right, had over 13,000 PIP claims while kyphosis, which causes the upper spine to curve forward, had just 1,200 claims. Doctors don’t know what causes the vast majority of scoliosis cases, while kyphosis is most commonly caused by bad posture.
Spondylolisthesis, which had over 7,000 claims, is a spinal condition where one vertebrae slips forward or backward over the bone below it.
The most rare back condition being claimed for PIP was Schuermann’s disease with just 1,132 claims as of April 2026. Like kyphosis, it causes the upper back to hunch forward but this condition is due to vertebrae growing in a wedge shape the forces the spine to curve.
PIP provides different rates depending on what you find difficulty with and how much your condition affects you. The lowest weekly rate is the lower mobility rate at £30.30 per week while getting both daily living and mobility rates at the enhanced level can add up to £194.60 per week.
